{"id":96500,"date":"2026-04-25T11:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=96500"},"modified":"2026-04-25T11:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T08:15:18","slug":"developer-announces-bitcoin-hard-fork-and-distribution-of-satoshis-coins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/developer-announces-bitcoin-hard-fork-and-distribution-of-satoshis-coins\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer Announces Bitcoin Hard Fork and Distribution of Satoshi&#8217;s Coins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has announced the launch of a hard fork of the original cryptocurrency network, named eCash. The deployment of the alternative blockchain is scheduled for August 2026.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: New Bitcoin Fork<\/p>\n<p>I am helping create a **new Bitcoin Hardfork** \u2014 dropping this August, called &#8220;eCash&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Your coins will split. For example, if you have 4.19 BTC, then you will get 4.19 eCash.<br \/>\u2014 You may sell your eCash \u2014 or keep it. Or ignore it!<\/p>\n<p>Vegas:<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Yes, I\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Paul Sztorc (@Truthcoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Truthcoin\/status\/2047639261453680838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to the announcement, the project is conceived as a &#8220;clean&#8221; reboot of <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/bitcoin-explained-what-it-is-and-how-it-works\">Bitcoin<\/a>, retaining the network&#8217;s basic architecture. BTC holders at the time of the snapshot will receive new coins at a 1:1 ratio.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;You can sell your eCash, keep it, or ignore it,&#8221; noted Sztorc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Known About eCash<\/h2>\n<p>According to the developer, the blockchain uses an almost unchanged codebase of the main Bitcoin Core client and will maintain the SHA-256 consensus algorithm. However, initially, the <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-hashrate-and-mining-difficulty-in-cryptocurrencies\">mining difficulty<\/a> will be reset to &#8220;minimal value.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The project includes support for <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-is-a-layer%e2%80%912-solution-in-blockchain\">L2<\/a> infrastructure in the form of drivechains. Sztorc is the author of this concept, but his proposals BIP-300 and BIP-301 have not gained widespread support after years of discussion.<\/p>\n<p>The programmer noted that seven drivechains are in development, including one focused on privacy &#8220;in the style of zCash.&#8221; Among other planned L2s, he highlighted Truthcoin (prediction markets), CoinShift (decentralized exchange), BitAssets (NFTs and other assets), BitNames (identification), and the quantum-resistant Photon.<\/p>\n<p>Sztorc emphasized that he intentionally removed the word Bitcoin from the network&#8217;s name to distance it from the fate of the 2017 BCH fork.<\/p>\n<p>In his view, the new blockchain, unlike Bitcoin Cash, offers a &#8220;permanent and sustainable solution to Bitcoin&#8217;s problems.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;In 2017, the BTC tech stack was strong, as were expectations for <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lightning-network-faster-cheaper-bitcoin-transactions\">Lightning [Network]<\/a>. Today, it&#8217;s the opposite,&#8221; Sztorc believes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Controversial Decision<\/h2>\n<p>The creator of eCash announced the distribution of part (up to half) of ~1.1 million BTC stored in the so-called &#8220;Patoshi miner wallets.&#8221; These coins are attributed to Bitcoin&#8217;s creator Satoshi Nakamoto, but their true owner is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>The idea has drawn sharp criticism from some in the community, who view the initiative as a violation of the fundamental principle of property immutability.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Outside of whatever drama may unfold:<br \/>1. Taking Satoshi coins is theft and disrespectful. <br \/>2. eCash is already used for Lightning payments with Cashu and Fedi.<\/p>\n<p>Those are poor choices.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Peter McCormack \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea (@PeterMcCormack) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PeterMcCormack\/status\/2047688838785745089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Taking Satoshi&#8217;s coins is theft and disrespect. Moreover, eCash is already used for Lightning payments in Cashu and Fedi. These are poor choices,&#8221; wrote podcaster Peter McCormack.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>One user <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jasonbcox0\/status\/2047702242355200013\">questioned<\/a> what would happen if the real owner of the &#8220;Patoshi coins&#8221; later emerged.<\/p>\n<p>Sztorc acknowledged that the decision regarding the assets is controversial but called it &#8220;actually perfect.&#8221; The distribution of coins allows investors to engage with the fork and launch it as a &#8220;ready project,&#8221; rather than another &#8220;zombie network,&#8221; the developer emphasized.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you two or three years before a complete collapse, and I&#8217;ll finally try drivechains on Bitcoin, but without a fork using the most inefficient script stuff,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PakoVM\/status\/2047660417141403770\">stated<\/a> a commentator under the nickname PacoVM.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In April, the community was <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/radical-plan-to-shield-bitcoin-from-quantum-computers-sparks-outrage\">outraged by a radical plan<\/a> to protect Bitcoin from quantum computers. The initiative BIP-361, proposed by Casa founder Jameson Lopp and a group of experts, suggests freezing vulnerable coins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc has announced the launch of a hard fork of the original cryptocurrency network, named eCash. The deployment of the alternative blockchain is scheduled for August 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc announced a hard fork named eCash, set for August 2026.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,268,1179],"class_list":["post-96500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin","tag-hardfork","tag-layer-2-solutions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"62","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc announced a hard fork named eCash, set for August 2026.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96502,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96500\/revisions\/96502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}